Web Perspectives has revealed that 80% of Canadian respondents said they use Facebook at the same level of high than they did a year ago.

Despite Facebook ‘losing’ 1.5 million users in Canada over the past 2 months, speculation is rife that this social networking empire is on the decline.

With almost 700 million users worldwide, Facebook has revolutionised online social networking.

However, the Inside Facebook Gold Data Service reports that growth has slowed down in some of the biggest markets in the world for two consecutive months. Over the past year, the company gained an average 20 million new users each month but in April and May, the figures were significantly lower (13.9 million and 11.8 million respectively). Despite sharp growth in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and India, some of Facebook’s biggest markets are actually losing active users. The United States lost almost 6 million users during May, and Canada lost 1.5 million in the same month. The UK, Norway and Russia also posted losses of at least 100,000. Facebook stated that its aim was to reach 1 billion users worldwide*.

This headline news has sparked speculation that Facebook’s reign as the King of the Social Network may be drawing to a close. High visitor numbers are important for the company to attract advertisers, but if its growth rate continues to fall, Facebook has cause for concern**.

However, Facebook’s critics should not rejoice too soon. In a recent statement, Facebook stated that it was ‘very pleased’ with its growth, and questioned the accuracy of the IFG figures.

Toronto was the first city to pass the million user mark, and in some Canadian cities non-Facebook users are in the minority. Canada’s 15 million active Facebook users represent half the population, and ironically, this high penetration may explain why Facebook usage appears to be flagging here. According to the IFG, developed countries where Facebook users represent around 50% of the population reach a ‘saturation point’ after which usage inevitably slows down to a halt***

Despite the 1.5 million users that have shut down their Facebook profile over the past couple of months, over 9 million Canadian users still log on to Facebook every day. 41% of Canadian respondents to the Web Perspectives’ survey questions still use Facebook as much (or as little) as they did a year ago and some 39% of Canadian respondents actually say they now use Facebook more often compared to their usage of the site this time last year. A very small 2% of Canadians surveyed said they used the social network in the past and have since stopped using it.

Via EPR Network
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